Uber accident victim offered £35 refund after minicab crashes on M4 and bursts into flamesAn executive has hit out at Uber for offering a £35 refund after he was "almost killed" when his minicab crashed on the M4 and burst into flames.
Florian Pedemanaud says he was left “traumatised” by the terrifying accident, which happened as he travelled to Heathrow Airport on Thursday evening.
He has no recollection of the crash, but mobile phone footage shows the wreckage in flames shortly after he got out.
The mangled vehicle appears to be wedged against a barrier and another car, which witnesses said also caught fire shortly after the camera stopped filming.
Mr Pedemanaud, 32, was lucky to escape with only cuts and bruises.
The dashboard started smoking before he got out and ran across the motorway to safety.
"All I remember is opening my eyes and not realising what was happening," he said.
"I was in such a state of shock, then I started to feel the pain in my jaw and could feel my chin was bleeding.
"You feel that you could have died. It's really scary and traumatising. I was in a lot of pain and had a lot of bruising."
In a state of shock and confusion, he took out his phone and filmed the dashboard smoking while still in the car. He recorded another clip of the burning car from across the motorway.
The French executive, who lived in the UK for eight years and now works for a beauty brand in Dubai, had stopped in London for a business trip on his way to a family holiday.
He says the driver was handling erratically throughout the journey - and he was already preparing to give him a one-star rating for his "inconsistent" driving.
He claims private hire firm Uber offered him an apology and a refund, before suggesting he get in touch with the driver.
He said: "I contacted Uber and said 'What are you going to do for me?'
"They said we just refund you the £35 ride. I just got so angry, receiving sincere apologies and £35, its almost like a joke.
"I spoke to someone today and they said we understand but we have nothing to do with it.
"They said they can put me in contact with the driver, who isn't working for them anymore.
"I have no desire to be in contact with a driver who almost killed me."
Mr Pedemanaud was picked up by a Good Samaritan who got him to Heathrow in time for his flight to the south of France. He saw paramedics and reported the incident to police at the airport.
The woman who collected him, home designer Lucia Chilcott, said: "The flames were yellow and black and everything. People were trying to run to safety, those two cars were really on fire."
She added: "This attitude from Uber, the £35 refund - surely there's compensation? He was injured and very traumatised, he was in deep shock and cried the whole way."
An Uber spokesman said: "We were shocked to hear about this accident and immediately reached out to the rider and partner-driver in question to ensure they were both okay.
"We have opened an investigation and of course refunded this trip. We've also offered the rider support in going through the necessary insurance claims.
"Uber is carrying out over two million trips a month in London alone, and fortunately accidents of this nature are extremely rare, but even one accident is one too many."
source:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/u ... 70220.html
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